How Well Does the Neonatal Heart Measure Up?

Understanding the repeatability and reproducibility of echocardiographic measurements in the pediatric population is important in clinical research studies and in daily clinical practice.1-4 This knowledge informs practitioners of the strengths and limitations of  this noninvasive diagnostic modality and allows us to determine the level of confidence we can have when distinguishing a normal from an abnormal measurement value in growing children.5 Using data from the prospective multicenter Copenhagen Baby Heart Study (CBHS) evaluating neonatal cardiovascul ar structure and function in a population study of 25,000 newborns,6 Sillesen and colleagues7 address this issue by looking at the variability associated with measurement performance and image acquisition in neonatal echocardiograms.
Source: Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Comment Source Type: research